Safety signal device.



E. J. DUNNE. SAFETY SIGNAL DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY20,1912

EDWARD J. DUNNE, 0F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

SAFETY SIGNAL DEVI CE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1913.

Application filed July 20, 1912. Serial No. 710,633.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, EDWARD J DUNNE, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State ofNew Jersey, United States of America, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Safety Signal Devices; and I'do hereby declarethe following to be a full, olear and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make andnuse the same, reference being'had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to car safety signal devices, and-has for itsobjectto provide a loose, bodily depressible railway car-step, by'means ofwhich a signal is given to the driver of the car that a person is on thestep, and my invention consists in the combination andarrangement ofparts, as will hereinafter be particularly described and pointed out inthe claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are similarlydesignatedFigure 1 is a plan view of an electricstreet-railway car step,embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1, drawnto an enlarged scale- Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig.1, also to an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is an enlarged, detail, sectionalview showing one of the plug contacts, and Fig. 5 is a wire diagramshowing the operating circuits as derived from the trolley, or othersupply conductor.

My invention is such as can be readily ap-- plied to existing carswithout any great eX'-- pense for reconstruction of a step, stepboard orrunning-board.

Tn the drawings, 1 indicates the ordinary step-board or running-board ofa car, and through this board I bore a number of holes 2. in a pluralityof rows, and preferably staggered. l have shown the step-board (Fig. 3,)as provided with two such longitudinal rows of holes. The holesQ arepreferably, but not necessarily, reamed conical at their upper ends, asshown at 3. Secured to the upper face of the step-board 1. by means ofsuitable bolts, 4, are curved leaf springs I have shown two longitudinalrows of such springs, but the number of springs may be increased ordiminished according to the length and width of the stepboard. The bolts4 securing the springs 5' to the step-board 1, pass substantiallythrough the middle of these springs, so that their upwardly directedends normally hold a sheet iron plate 6 a slight distance above thestep-board. This sheet iron plate 6 may or may not be provided with asuitable tread surface. V

In the drawings I have shown the sheet iron plate 6 as provided with acorrugated lead tread surface 7. Any other anti-slip ping tread surfacemaybe \used', or the sheet iron plate 6 may itself be corrugated,roughened, or otherwise rendered safe, as is customarily done inexisting'treads for stepboards, and the special tread surface, such as7, may be omitted.

On three sides of the step-board. I provide limit members 8 of woodor'other material. having a flange 9 against-the under edge of which thesheet metal tread 6 is held by the springs On top of these limit members8 and extending. also around the three sides of the board and plate 6 Iplace an apron 10, of rubber or other flexible elastic material, and ontop of this I place a metal frame 11, held in place by screws or bolts12, serving simultaneously to hold the frame 11, apron 10, and limitmembers 8 to the step-board.

The sheet metal tread 6 is extended downward over the front oft-hestep-board, as shown at 6, (Fig. 3) to form a protecting apron.

Secured to the movable tread by means of belts or screws 13 are plugs 14of insulating material. These plugs preferably have a screw-threadedboss 14 at their upper end,

by means of which they may also be screwed into corresponding holes inthe tread-plate 6,, and also have an enlarged conical head 15corresponding with the countersunk portions 3 of the holes 2 in thestep-board. On the lower ends of these insulating plugs are. conductingcontact plates or washers 16, secured thereto by means of screws 17, orother suitable devices.

Beneath the step-board is provided a sheet metal pan 18 havingperforations 19 for the drainage and discharge of rain water or thelike. On this pan I secure pairs of contact s rings 20 mounted onsuitable insulating locks 21. 'There is a pair of springs beneath eachhole 2, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and contact is made between thesprings of a pair by the Washer 16 when the tread 6 is depressed againstthe springs 5, thereby closing electrical contact between one or morepairs of springs 20.

The amount of vertical movement of the tread 6 is but a fraction of aninch, and the tread is movable bodily downward. By making the treadbodily movable or depressible, 1 decrease the extent of movement of thetread to a. great extent.

The insulating plugs 14 hold the tread in proper relative position tothe step-board and also prevent it from slipping therefrom forward.

The springs are connected in parallel in the electrical circuit, and arepreferably wired in the manner shown in Fig. 5, wherein 22 is a trolleywire, 23 a high resistance, say in the neighborhood of 9500 ohms, eitherconnected to the trolley of the car or to leads thereto, and 24 is asmaller resistance,

in the neighborhood of 500 ohms, in series therewith, and connected bywire 25 to the ground through the car wheels, or to the return rail, asthe case may be, the lower resistance 24 being at the grounded end ofthe circuit.

Between-the two resistances I connect a wire, 26, leading to a contact20' of each pair of contacts, the other contacts of said airs beingconnected to a wire 27 which in i urn is connected to a magnet ormagnets 28 that are connected by wire 29 to wire This circuit is inparallel with the low resistance 24. The magnets 28 operate an armature30 against a stationary contact 31 connected by wire 32 to the trolleyor supply wire. The armature 30 is connected through a resistance 33 toa relay 34 and lamp 35 to wire 25. Between the resistance 33 and themagnet 34 I connect a lead36 to the armature 37 of the magnet 34, saidarmature resting on a stationary contact 38 that is connected to a lamp39 and therethroughto wire 25. circuits makes-it possible to make use ofpower from the propulsion circuits of the car, thereby avoiding the useof batteries, which are always troublesome, and still have a low voltageunder the step, too low to be of any inji. y, by reason of short circuitor otherwise, to the person on the step.

By reason of the step being bodily movable, and especially in the casewhenlong step-boards are provided'vvith my improvements, such as thelong step-boards on open cars, it may often happen that only. a smallnumber of pairs of springs 20 will be D bridged by their conductors 1.6on the end of the plugs 14. As the plugs pass down in the holes 2 thecountersinks 3 receive the conical heads 15 of the plugs, and properlycenter the plugs with relation to the holes and the contact springs 20.When one or more "pairs of the contacts 20 under the stenboard areconnected by the depression of t e;

This arrangement of.

plugs 14, the low voltage circuit 26, 20, 27,

suitable'position so as to give warning to' the moto'rman, or otherperson comerned,

, that someone is standing on the step. 1

I have shown a pair of lamps, 35, 39', so

that in the event that one lamp burns out,

the automatic relay 34, 37, will automatically close circuit through thelamp It is, of course, obvious that other nals, either visible oraudible, may be used in addition to or in place of lamps 35, 39.

I claim 1. The combination with a step-board having perforationstherein, a bodily dc pressible tread, springs between said tread andboard, flanged limit members for the tread, a flexible apron coveringthe space between the tread and limit members, electrical contacts belowthe step-board and plug contacts on the tread passing through theperforations in the board.

V2. The combination with a stepboard having perforations therein; of abodily-depressible, yieldingly-supported tread, circuit closing plugspassing through the perforations in the step-board, and contacts beneaththe step-board closed by the plugs, said step-board and plugs having anextent of movement less than the length of said plugs, whereby. saidplugs will hold the tread in relati'on to the step-board under allconditions of operation. 4

3. The combination with a step board having perforations therein; of a.pan below said step-board, pairs of spaced contacts secured to saidpan, a bodilvdepressible,

yieldingly-supported tread on said step-- board, and plug contactssecured to the tread and movable in the perforations thereof eacharranged to bridge a pair of said spaced contacts when moved betweenthem upon depression ,of the tread, r 4. The combination with astep=boar having perforations therein provided with conically formedupper ends; of a pair of contacts beneath each perforation, a yieldinglysupported, bodily-movable tread, plug contacts secured to the tread,passing through the perforations and having conical-heads conforming tothe upper ends of said perforations, whereby each plug is arranged tobridge a pair of said contacts.

5. The combination with a step-board having perforations therein; abodily movable, yieldingly supported tread member on said board,limiting means'to limit the up ward movement of said-member, a perfomtedpan secured to the bottom of said board, a pair of contacts mounted onthe pan beneath each perforatlon 1n the board.

plug contacts secured to said member, passing-through said perforationsand arranged to bridge said pairs of contacts.

6. The combination with a step-board having conically ended perforationstherein; of a bodily-depressible, yieldingly supported tread having anapron extending over the front of said board, limit members overhangingthree sides of the tread, an apron extending from the limit members overthe tread member, a perforated pan secured to the bottom of said board,pairs of insulated spaced contacts mounted \Oll the pan beneath theperforations in the board tions in the board, and conductive piecessecured to the "ends of the plugs arranged to bridge the pairs ofcontacts.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signedmy name 111 presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD J. DUNNE.

lVitnesses FRANCIS M. Loon, FRANK D. FoULKs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

